this morning on "world news now" -- debate countdown. candidates doing some last- minute cramming to give voters some reality instead of rhetoric. >> the two men square off in their first debate in just two days -- a few days anyway. it's monday, october 1st, everybody. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." it's all good this monday morning. i'm paula faris. >> i'm john muller. rob nelson has the morning off. and we'll have the latest as the candidates prepare to go head to head this week. but first a look at some of the stories we're following this half hour. >> lindsay lohan's latest. what would monday morning be without a brush with the law for lilo, only this time she says she's the victim of the crime and not the perch traitor. >> this is an interesting one.

you're going to enjoy it. plus, don't go in the water. there's a new threat at some of the nation's lakes, not as harmless as it might look. >> that was a foul story. i'll have to admit. don't want to go anywhere near the water. and can be deadly as well. >> what was up with that water. in power and offline. how some well known and powerful people don't use e-mail. could you survive without e-mail? >> no. i can't imagine how you would do it. are they using snail mail and making phone calls? >> i could go without it. i would just text everybody. my e-mails are short and to the point anyway. >> i am all about the text. i don't want to talk to anybody. happy birthday. >> will you talk to them? >> yes. i'll talk to them. >> okay. first on this monday, with just two days you mentioned earlier until the first presidential debate. our new poll out shows president obama way ahead in the expectations game. >> in our abc news/"washington post" poll, 63% of registered voters, a 2-1 margin, expect president obama to win the upcoming debate and the election. that's his biggest lead so far when it comes to expectations.

>> but when it comes to the race itself and support for each candidate, a lot closer with the president leading 49% to 47%. we get more of wednesday's debate in denver from abc's karen travers. >> reporter: president obama arrived in nevada for three days of what campaign aide are calling debate camp. but he took a break to rally supporters in that critical battleground state. >> i believe in you. and i ask you to keep on believing in me. >> reporter: both the president and mitt romney will hunker down over the next few days as they huddle with senior advisers to prepare for wednesday's high-stakes showdown in denver. in recent days aides to both campaigns have been bending over backwards to compliment their opponent and downplay expectations for their side. new jersey governor chris christie set a high bar for romney. >> this is the first moment when the american people are going to be able to see these two guys side by side, laying out their vision unfiltered. and i think that's going to be a powerful moment for mitt romney.

>> reporter: and an adviser for romney says they're preparing for romney to come armed. >> they've been practicing zingers for months. >> reporter: abc news political analyst matt dowd says at this point, romney and obama advisers are style over substance. >> the debates that have changed people's minds have all been about physical characteristics and mannerisms really in the modern age and not substance or policy issues. >> reporter: both have challenges. the president needs to keep his answers short to avoid sounding like the professor he was before the white house. and romney must come across relatable and really connect with the voters. karen travers, abc news, washington. >> hmm. >> all right. >> talking about the whole style not substance? >> style. style is important. and particularly just likability, what people feel like they -- you know, they feel like they have a comfort zone with you. it's very important. >> i don't think anybody has prepared more so than mitt

romney. you've got 50 million to 60 million eye balls. >> how many zingers stuffed in their coat. got the zinger. bang. >> pull it out, boom. >> good sound bites coming up. >> as chris christie said, he's going to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. >> yeah. >> okay. that's one way to put it. >> this will be the first of three debates between these two men, but, really, this is the real important one. getting down to the wire. romney looking for a turn around right now. this is big. >> this one is about domestic policy. the next one will be foreign policy. the third one will be a mix of both of them. so this coming wednesday, 9:00, 90 minutes, they're going to sit side by side like two bar stools having a -- >> directors chairs. >> -- beer with one another. almost. >> sans the beer. overseas now we go where the u.s. war in afghanistan reached a grim milestone. the death toll reached 2,000 after an american servicemember died over the weekend. the unidentified sold were was killed in a fire fight between u.s. and afghan forces. nato hasn't said whether it considers the incident an

insider or attack or the result of a misunderstanding. the fbi is investigating a shooting death of a california mother by a border patrol agent. candles and flowers honor the dead woman, valeria alvarado, who leaves behind her husband as well as her five children. the border patrol claims that alvarado drove into a plainclothes agent serving an arrest warrant in the neighborhood. witnesses say she was gunned down for no reason. the supreme court begins its new term, poised to rule on affirmative action, voting rights and same-sex marriage. ahead of the session, six of nine justices attended the red mass at saint matthew's cathedral. the archbishop asked the judges to consider what's best for society rather than what is popular for handing down decisions. new drama unfolding for lindsay lohan this morning. what started as a night of partying in a new york hotel room, well it ended with a scuffle with a former congressional aide, and now police are trying to sort out accusations from both sides.

we have the latest now from lucy yang of wabc in new york. >> reporter: so what happened at the w hotel in union square? troubled actress lindsay lohan claims she was assaulted twice. but police are not pressing charges, turning this into a case of she said/he said. >> i am not surprised, and i probably don't believe her story much. >> reporter: lohan says she met a man at the one oak club and brought her back to the 15th floor hotel room. he has been identified as 25-year-old christian labella from california. these pictures with celebrities and politicians are from his facebook page. lohan claims he took pictures of her on his cell phone. when she snatched the phone. she claims he pushed her on the bed and choked her in the stairwell. that's when she pulled the fire alarm for help. labella was arrested and taken to the 13th precinct. but by sunday afternoon, the assault charges were dropped. both sides now claiming to be the victim. >> i think it's a difficult case. i mean who's going to prove it? >> reporter: the hotel had no comment. in fact, workers moved the

planters blocking the "w" hotel sign. lindsay is currently on probation for a necklace theft incident. earlier this month, a pedestrian accused her of clipping him as she drove to another new york city nightclub. >> lindsayry kneels to focus on her own life and make sure she's in a better place. >> who is it? >> lindsay lohan. >> i don't have any idea who it is. >> an actress. >> no. >> reporter: we understand there was a third person in the hotel room. he's not allowed to discuss the details but did inform us on his twitter page that lohan is now safe. meanwhile other hotel guests who heard the alarm go off at 6:00 sunday morning tell me they had no idea there was such a backstory to this inconvenience. lucy yang, abc news, new york. arnold schwarzenegger's tell-all memoir released to day. the former california governor is talking about how he kept secrets from maria shriver during their 25-year marriage. in an interview with "60 minutes" schwarzenegger admits

his behavior, including fathering a child with his longtime housekeeper, deeply hurt those closest to him. >> i inflicted tremendous pain on maria and unbelievable pain on the kids. >> schwarzenegger says there were other affairs over the years. details are something that is between him and maria. and in just a few hours on "good morning america," arnold schwarzenegger sits down with george stephanopoulos for his first live interview since the scandal broke. he says that he has an inability to be honest with people, and this is basically how he cared himself his entire life. he says, i've hurt those closest. it's the way i've always handled things. it's always worked. it doesn't. not the best thing for people around me. because i sometimes, some information i kept to myself rather. he says it's -- that's the way he was trained as a former mr. universe. don't display those emotions at all. >> secrecy worked for him for a lot of his career. i guess it's biting him on the back end. >> can you imagine, though, not

telling his wife he's running for governor, not telling her he is having heart surgery? the kind of stuff. normal day-to-day stuff. >> that's mind-boggling. but everything arnold schwarzenegger does is larger than life. he's something, man. >> are you going to read his book? >> if it was in the newsroom and i saw it, i would pick it up and read it. am i going to run to the bookstore or order it from amazon? i don't know. i would read it if you have it. give it time. i will read it. poignant reminder here in new york, sacrifices so many made in response to the 9/11 attacks. thousands of runners took part over the weekend in the annual tunnel-to towers run. >> named for steven siller, a new york city fire fighter who died that day. the race retraces the path siller took from the brooklyn battery tunnel to world trade center wearing 60 pounds of gear

strapped to his back. he ran through the tunnel with all the gear on to a burning building. an amazing guy. a much different kind of competition we'll show you. one that pits man against deer with spectacular results. >> skateboarders, fully equipped with safety gear headed down the mountain, all going well. until a deer seemingly appears out of nowhere. slams into one of those borders. man. >> uh-oh. we're told the deer wasn't injured. the skateboarder probably just still eating dust. got to look out for the deer. >> it is so true. deer crossings, car or skateboarder. looks like a body check. like a hockey check. >> check this out. yeah. >> yeah. >> thank goodness he's okay. looks kind of steep. looks like it falls off a little bit. >> are we sure that the deer is okay? >> i guess we're sure that the skateboarder is okay and the deer apparently ran off with a decent looking stride, so we're assuming rest. >> yes, we have been told the deer is doing just fine. bambi is okay, everybody. let's all relax. coming up -- as much a part of our lives as eating or breathing. we're talking about e-mail. sometimes we can't escape even though we'd really like. turns out some of the world's most powerful people don't have it. >> that's hard to believe. first, though, more than a menace, algae taking over america's lakes.

but this green slime isn't just an eye sore. it is downright dangerous. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by hotwire.com. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by hotwire.com. >> announc announcer: "world ne weather brought to you by hotwire.com. l year for the big race in chicago, but i can only afford one trip. and i just found out my best friend is getting married in l.a. there's no way i'm missing that. then i heard about hotwire and i realized i could actually afford both trips. see, when really nice hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. so i got my four-star hotels for half-price! >> men: ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com >> announcer: save big on car rentals too, from $12.95 a day. it's time to change the way we clean. it's time to free ourselves from the smell and harshness of bleach. and free ourselves from worrying about the ones we love.

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all right. welcome back. now a story about the nation's all right. welcome back. now a story about the nation's lakes being invaded by a slimy enemy. there's nothing nice about this stuff. it is smelly, and it looks bad. >> all that and it's dangerous. abc's jim avila went to wisconsin, put on some waders, and got into the story literally. >> reporter: it's an assault on nearly all the senses. a living, breathing, growing, toxic organism known as blue/green algae, and it is worse this month. >> that is very much alive. >> reporter: gosh, the smell is bad. caking america's lakes so thick, the swirling slime can be seen in photos from space. >> people that used to be here, after a couple of years said we can't handle it anymore and left. >> reporter: tom runs the marina in lake petenwell, wisconsin, or tries to. >> nobody will swim or boat in it.

>> reporter: it not only looks bad and smells bad it is toxic. and those who are unlucky enough to fall in without a suit like this get sick pretty fast. dan jenkins didn't go in the lake next to his house. but his dog casey did. >> and he's covered in this carpet of green slime. >> reporter: it made breathing difficult. and within weeks -- >> -- casey had started walking sideways. >> reporter: 72 hours later he died. and his owner dan was partially paralyzed. >> it hit me hard. wobbling around like that, it would make me mad. i mean it was a fight. >> reporter: he hasn't recovered, and a joint investigation by abc news and the food & environment reporting network found more than 100 reported illnesses due to blue/green algae exposure. >> essentially if we don't solve this problem, somebody's going to die. >> reporter: ohio state's dr. jeffrey reuter is the foremost authority on blue/green algae.

he says it's a nationwide problem caused by farm fertilizer runoff. the cure, he says, is convincing farmers to carefully fertilize so nutrients stay on the fields and not in the water. >> otherwise these blooms are going to continue to grow. the human health problems that we see are going to increase. >> reporter: assaulting our senses, our economy, and our health. jim avila, abc news, lake petenwell, wisconsin. >> that is nasty stuff. >> oh, that's an understand statement, but the wisconsin department of natural resources says the best way to treat this is naturally, but they say it could take several years to get rid of it completely. in fact, there was a large amount of -- lake erie, almost a third of the surface, covered. >> cut big time into the fishing industry there. apparently it's in more or less every state. peaks august through september. nearly every state in the union. clearly really bad there. in the great lakes area. >> scientific term, cyano bacteria. >> yeah. >> cyano meaning green for blue? >> right. that's what i heard.

a condition most of us could ever imagine. >> in this connected day and age, what is it like to not use e-mail? can we all dream about that? the answer when we come back on "world news now." >> hmm. >> announcer: abc's "world news noúl

okay. so we all have our smartphones, our iphones, our nanos, everything else, right? all those electronic gadgets that we can't live without? >> that is most of us anyway, including some of our nation's most powerful women who are diskeconnected but pulling it o somehow. abc's tanya rivero has details. whoever hillary clinton is emailing the head of homeland security. janet napolitano revealed this shocker. >> what does your security look like?

>> don't laugh. i don't use e-mail. >> reporter: in "the hunger games," jennifer lawrence's character is a fierce shot, but in real life, the actress won't shoot off an e-mail. >> because the internet scares me. it never ends. it's like the universe. >> reporter: we're not laughing. we're jealous. it seems the more powerful you are, the less you need what the rest of us breathe. ♪ oh, rocket man >> reporter: elton john may sing about galaxy travel, but despises cell phones and the web. warren buffett is famously bearish on technology. angelina jolie jokes about her technophobia. and last year winona ryder told jimmy fallon the internet scared her. >> the googling wasn't just very terrifying to me. >> and the man with over a hundred movies under his belt doesn't i'm or carry a phone. >> i'm a millionaire. that's the difference. >> reporter: but the lack of access. >> for me it doesn't matter. you see, i think it's you who's sweating this. >> reporter: okay, christopher

walken. but for us working stiffs, we can't escape technology, morning, noon, and night. the power to unplug is a luxury we can't afford. well, maybe just this once. tuning in and logging out, tanya rivero, abc news, new york. >> i dream of turning it off. >> you can. you can. >> i can but i'll get in trouble. it brings us to our facebook question of the day. yeah. we want to know honestly how long do you think you could go without e-mail? long on to wnnfans.com and weigh in. >> i think i would rather -- i honestly think i could go without e-mail except for work purposes. i would probably get fired. i like communicating in short sentences, get right to the point. i can do the texting. >> all about the text. text is my favorite. check it out, with the ultramodern phone. not too far from the one i have got actually. >> that is -- is that your blackberry? >> my brickberry.

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♪ all right. finally, this half hour, a little segment we like to call "insomniac theatre." this week, a review of the time travel thriller "looper." >> joining us here with her thoughting about it, digital w news analyst adman van allen, with that beautiful smile. good morning, amanda. you saw "looper?" >> i did. and i have to say i had an incredible time at the movies this weekend. >> cool. >> i did not expect to, but i loved it. critics were giving this rave reviews. everybody said go see it, go see it, and i did. i loved it. we had joseph gordon-levitt,

emily blunt. they were amazing. it was great cast. it was really fun. it was a, i want to say, forward-thinking movie honestly. kind of merged sci-fi, mystery, suspense, a thriller. it was a lot of fun. and really great. the only thing that i didn't like about it was the ending. why do people do that to movies? they have a great movie and then they kind of end it -- >> do you like the happy ending? >> it wasn't not a happy ending. it was just one of those "wait, that's it?" >> no closure? >> there's no closure. that was a little disheartening to me. >> how was bruce willis? was he effective? >> he was really great. you didn't know who to root for. do you root for the future? or the past? and it's really cool. it's a lot of fun. so let's check out what some of our moviegoers had to say about it. >> a really great one in terms of combining sci-fi with true human dramas. >> i just didn't like that it ended so quickly. i felt like i wanted to see

more, but that's a good thing, i guess. >> "looper" by far had the best plot, best action. and i think it was great. i liked it a lot. >> i am a fan of the director, ryan johnson. i liked his first two movies also, but this was a huge step forward for him artistically. >> everybody really had a good time in the film. and i agree with that. >> think about time travel. never been disappointed. >> it wasn't the typical time travel movie, very forward-thinking. so i think everybody should go out there and see it. i'm giving it four out of five stars, which is huge for me. >> basque basically. which is great because you're tough. >> which is huge. a great movie. must-see, you should go check it out. everybody should go check it out. >> you know what we're going do right now? we're going to travel back in time. >> we are? >> yeah. >> this whole show. you don't, you have no idea what is coming up next.

this morning on "world news now" -- airport anxiety. new trouble for the tsa. >> in the latest security breach, a loaded .38 caliber gun makes it through undetected. it is monday, october 1st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> october 1st. how did this happen, paula? >> well, first of all, there's 12 months in a year. >> yeah. >> and i don't recall how the previous nine went. >> october 1st. hall wean, thanksgiving, christmas. it's all going to be a big snowball from here. all right, everybody. i'm john muller. rob is off this morning. >> and i'm paula faris. two sides offer up battle plans as well as predictions.

the first of three between these two guys. >> looking forward to it. also coming up, christmas coming early for a little boy who could really use the cheer. now his entire neighborhood is getting in the spirit. >> and what's black and white and booed all over? >> the refs. >> yep. the replacement refs who are now talking about their time filling in on the field and that infamous monday night call that they're calling the fail mary. >> the fail mary. >> not the hail mary. i got that off espn.com. >> did they coin that recently or was that right out of the gate? >> i read it on espn yesterday. >> the immaculate and the fail mary. first, new questions about airport security this morning. twice in the past few days loaded guns have gotten past tsa agents. >> now lawmakers are demanding answers. here's abc's mark greenblat. >> reporter: in the latest black eye for tsa, a loaded .38 caliber gun like this went undetected.

by skreerns. new orleans hornets' executive joshua richardson said he mistakenly flew with it from new orleans to newark. just one day earlier in orlando, they missed another loaded gun. this time in a firefighter's carry-on bag. that gun made it onto the plane. >> scary, but surprising. >> i would say generally -- i am surprised they missed something like that. >> reporter: some in congress worry this has all become business as usual. >> unfortunately the reports i get, it's not just this one weapon. it's hundreds of items every day, but it can't be tolerated. >> reporter: it is more unwanted scrutiny for the agency on the heels of an investigation by abc's brian ross into possible theft by tsa agents, which tracked a missing ipad to the home of this officer. >> my wife says she got the ipad and brought it home. >> reporter: you know, that can't be true because the last time we saw it, it was in your hands. >> reporter: that officer was fired. as for the record on security,

the tsa says it has had many successes. confiscating 1,100 weapons so far this year. 29 guns just last week alone. still, when it comes to all the blunders, many now think that tsa's own screeners need better screening themselves. >> i think it goes back to the type of hiring they did, the educational requirements they were allowed to put in place, which were not high enough in my view. >> reporter: as for the officer who let a firefighter walk right through security with a gun? well, the tsa says the person responsible has been pulled from duty this week with possibly more disciplinary action to come. mark greenblat, abc news, new york. >> it's a tough job, of course. >> yeah. >> 2 million people screened every year. >> four firearms a day confiscated. >> 2 million every day. isn't that unreal? >> amazing. two million, four firearms every day they get. >> how many times have you actually gone through it though? this has happened several times. i swear the screeners, the screener, i feel like isn't

even really looking at the monitor. >> really? >> just kind of letting things go on through. and what's crazy is that sometimes, like one item will be flagged and i will have the same exact item in my bag the next time, and it won't be flagged. >> no rhyme or reason? >> yeah, there isn't any. >> the agency stresses they take these incidents very seriously and they will conduct a full review of each and every one. >> but frightening. >> very frightening. just two days to the president obama and mitt romney squaring off in that first debate. it's going to be held in denver. today the president is doing prep work in nevada while his challenger travels to denver for a campaign rally. familiar faces from both parties are going to hit the sunday talk shows for a preview. >> president obama's a very gifted -- he's a very gifted speaker. the man's been on the national stage for many years. this is mitt's first time on on this kind a stage. >> but he's got to relax, show a little sense of humor. he's got to show why he's likeable. >> wednesday evening's debate at university of denver will focus on domestic issues. >> yes.

>> that ought to be very interesting. >> jobs, economy, health care, et cetera. >> and they'll have a suitcase full of zingers prepared to just hurl back and forth at each other. >> i thought that it was interesting, the expectations. people expect president obama by 2-1 to win the election. that's not necessarily who they're endorsing. whereas if you look at just a year ago, by an 18-point margin, people thought the president would lose. just in a matter of one year. >> they expect him to win the debate convincingly as well. we'll see what happens. when it comes to the race, it's much close when it comes to the race. shows the mitt romney at 49 losing to obama with 47. much closer in that regard. >> so the first one wednesday. then we have two more coming up. >> this is the biggest one. this is the biggest one, no doubt about it. >> 36 days to go. >> 36 days to go. my goodness. >> not that we're counting. >> not that we're counting, no. as the war in afghanistan winds down, the u.s. military has reached a grim new milestone. 2,000 servicemembers have now died in the war. the latest casualty, it was over the weekend when a soldier died in a fire fight with afghan

troops. an american civilian contractor was also killed in that battle. all right. there are new findings this morning in the government's botched gun-tracking program known as fast and furious with dozens more firearms now being linked to crimes in mexico. our new partner univision reports 57 previously undiscovered guns connected to fast and furious have been recovered at the sites of murders, kidnapping, and at least two massacres. a detroit area woman who collected welfare despite wenning winning a million dollar lottery, found her dead of possible drug overdose. police say amanda clayton was on probation for fraud and paid back $5,500 to the state of michigan. over the weekend, friends found the lottery winner dead, holding her 1 1/2-year-old daughter. she only had $67,000 left from her winnings. and lindsay lohan is in the middle of a new drama this

morning in what seems to be a story of he said/she said. lohan claims she was assaulted in her new york hotel room by a former congressional aide christian labella during an argument over cell phone pictures. police arrested him, then let him go, saying there was not enough evidence to hold him. one of the nation's busiest freeways will be open in time for the morning commute after major weekend roadwork. the shutdown of interstate 405 in los angeles was planned for weeks with warnings going out about massive gridlock and detours. but according to the city's mayor, motorists avoided the area and the repair went smoothly. >> caltrans took advantage of the closure. that means fewer lane closures in the future and a savings of about $150,000 in maintenance costs for taxpayers. >> now, the anticipated traffic nightmare dubbed carmageddon 2 followed a similar closure last year. carmageddon.

>> love that. >> love that. now here's a look at your weather. atlanta, mobile, tallahassee could see severe weather. wind up to 70 miles an hour. and nice day in the northeast and new england. and there'll be some showers in the carolinas by late afternoon. >> hopefully it's a good day to sleep. i'm tired after my big weekend with my college girlfriends. i feel like i could pass out right now. you might just have to carry me the rest of the show. >> i'll do that. >> in southern california, l.a. could push 100 degrees, warmer than usual in phoenix at 102. 60s, 70s in the nation's midsection. miami is right where it should be at 89 degrees. all right. well, the navy in thailand, the latest group to go gangnam style. a few dozen soldiers do their thing at the base there at the popular island of butiquette. >> it took three days for the navy to film and edit this masterpiece. the sailors wanted to change their usually serious image to something more fun and why not since everybody is going gangnam style. >> everybody is. >> 330 million times that tune has been watched.

>> it's amazing. >> it's number one in australia and the uk. it is catchy. >> it is catchy, no doubt about it. >> come on. >> what is it like this? >> like a horsey. >> okay. >> i'm not doing it. >> you made me do it. instigator over here. all right. coming up, the nation and neighbors joining together to give a little boy with cancer a christmas to remember. it's a story you'll remember as well. but first, there's a new national punch line. replacement refs get a pretty bad rap the past few weeks. just ahead we sit down with one who was on the field during the fail mary. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by swiffer, 360 duster. ♪ doesn't have to take longer. lean i'm done. i'm gonna read one of these. i'm gonna read one of these! [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 duster's extender gets into hard-to-reach places

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♪ all they friends just watch her ♪ ♪ watch her ♪ we've got to get them to play a faster tune or you're going go down for the count. hang in there, paula. all right. welcome back on this monday after the first full nfl sunday will real referees. we're guessing that depending on your perspective you're either happy they're back or they're not. >> i'm just glad to see football regardless. with the real refs back, the replacements have some time on their hand. abc's john schifrin -- you spoke with them as well. >> i did. >> here's what john found on. >> reporter: on three, let's go refs. this nfl sunday men in stripes got the unusual superstar treatment from the fans. excited to see their regular referees back in action. their labor dispute forced to an

end after this blown call last week by their replacements. >> the game's final play. >> reporter: in monday night's game between the parkers and the seahawks, the jump ball appears to be grabbed by green bay. >> who did they give it to? touchdown! feels like a jennings interception. >> reporter: the replacement refs gave the call and the win to seattle, sparking national outrage and ridicule. the nfl received 70,000 phone complaints. even "saturday night live" couldn't resist. >> time of death, 2:15. >> no, no, no. i'm not dead. also it's 4:30. [ whistle ] >> one man who wasn't laughing, replacement referee mike peek. he was on the field working that game. >> to see the game fall apart at the end, it was really one of those things that would want to make you go in the back room and cry a few tears. >> reporter: although he didn't make the call, this community college teacher from texas with 13 years of division i college reffing experience stands by his

fellow fill-ins. >> if somebody asks if it's a good call or a bad call, it depends on where you live. >> reporter: with regulars on the field in full force, they're still at the mercy of the players, coaches, and fans. >> number 29, defense. first down. >> reporter: after all, all referees are still only human. as for the regular refs, they're certainly used to fans second-guessing their calls on the field. but their decision to hold out has resulted in a new eight-year deal, earning them more money and a bigger pension. john schifrin, abc news, new york. >> never say never. the refs, high-fiving fans down the -- down the field. >> you don't see that ever. >> first and last time ever. >> yeah. i think the honeymoon's already over. and they botched a call in green bay. almost cost the packers a game if not for -- >> botched a call today. >> botched a call, the saints' kicker missing the field goal. >> maybe it's a conspiracy. >> yes. >> paula, you would never do something like that if you were a referee.

>> what? >> hey, there you go. >> what am i remembering there? women's football? >> nfl. that's the big time. >> yeah. hey you! get off the field! >> reffing, the "world news now" flag football game. >> okay. you're not going to play in it. you're going to ref it. >> i will cheat. >> when we come back, it is time for "the skinny." >> a secret celebrity wedding, straight ahead. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from

♪ skinny so skinny ♪ well, gentlemen, if you're an anne hathaway fan, she's off the market. she got married in a very secret, clan destine, covert wedding over the weekend to her fiance andrew schulman over the weekend in big sur, california, engaged the last year. she wore a valentino off-the-shoulder, vintage-inspired creation, teamed up with white shoes. an elaborate veil. she reportedly wore no jewelry. not that she needs to. just naturally gorgeous. they spent $100,000 flowers alone and treated guests to a vegan menu. a lot of people didn't see this coming. >> vegan menu. >> give me some meat.

come on. >> i want the steak, please, fillet. >> they have been engaged for a year. she told "hello" magazine they were thinking of getting married in 2013 because they were just too busy. >> she fooled everybody. >> sure did. pulled a little bait-and-switch. let's talk about justin bieber, case of bieber fever, literally possibly. literally on stage last night in glendale, arizona. you've got to feel bad for the guy. he was in the middle of his concert. and here we go, watch. >> what happen? >> upchuck, regurgitate, puke, whatever you want to call it. he had a tough time there. he apologized to the crowd for being sick. didn't seem to mind. ran off stage. came back, two times. took to twitter. reassured his fans that tonight's performance will go on. and even -- tweeted something pretty funny. showed a picture of the anchorman movie. >> ron burgundy. >> yeah, ron bur donedy, exactly, where he said maybe

milk was a bad choice. >> classic scene. when he's strolling down san diego pounding curdled milk. >> yes. >> if you're a foo fighter fan -- >> i like foo fighters. >> -- you should have been in new york. they played at global citizen festival over the weekend. their front man, dave grohl said this might be the last chance for fans to see them for a very long time. early on in their set, he said without making a big deal out of it, we don't have any shows after it. this is it, man. honestly, i don't know when we're going to do it again. they're actually done touring. you know what? they're actually done touring. they don't have any album in the works. and he -- by "he," i mean dave grohl -- has several side projects. fantastic show. i had friends that went to it. they performed alongside black keys and neil young. >> the coolest. >> nice concert in central park. >> they're taking time off. not a publicity stunt. schwarzenegger, arnold, a new book out. it's quite revealing. he's going to be on "gma" a

little later on, and he talks about it live with george stephanopoul stephanopoulos. should be an interesting interview. >> juicy. >> his life long penchant for secrecy and ability to put his emotions on deep freeze, let him into secrets with wife maria shriver, causing their marriage to break up when he was forced to admit he fathered a child with the family housekeeper years earlier. let's listen to arnold. >> you didn't know how to tell her. >> i didn't know how to tell her without worrying it would get out, whatever. >> and that she would leave you while you were still governor. >> i don't think that was as much an issue as just how do i keep this under wraps. >> arnold basically said inability to be honest with people hurt those closest to him. "total recall: my unbelievable true life story." that man has had an unbelievable life story. >> but he says that he was dishonest in everything, even like when he had heart surgery and when he decided to run for governor.

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♪ it's christmas it's christmas christmas everywhere ♪ finally, this half hour, what is no doubt our sweetest story of the morning. a little boy's very brave battle and his christmas wish. >> he has been battling cancer most of his young life, and his wish was to simile have christmas a little earlier than usual in an attempt to feel better. abc's david muir has the story. >> reporter: little 5-year-old nathan norman is getting the mail and lots of it. so much so his entire family right there helping him, mom, dad, sister there too. their mailbox already overflowing with christmas cards. >> nathan, racing in to wish you a merry christmas. >> reporter: the holiday coming early for a boy who wanted it to. nathan has been fighting cancer since he was just a year old. his mom and dad and the phone calls that come at all hours of the day. >> it's never good when the doctor's office calls you after hours.

>> reporter: what started as brain cancer has spread. he's had surgery, chemotherapy, and he's fighting it. his latest scan shows tumors have been stubborn. and even at 5, knowing he's up against a fight, the one thing that would make him happy and get him through it would be to celebrate an early christmas. >> nathan had asked when we got home if we would put up our christmas tree and our lights, that he thought that would make him feel better. >> reporter: and this weekend it wasn't just christmas at nathan any house. >> hello! >> reporter: it was christmas all through the neighborhood, the people next door, putting up their christmas lights too. and indoors nathan was invited to decorate their tree, even the christmas cookies. the neighbors telling nathan and his family we're in this together. >> we've pretty much walked this journey with them since the beginning. it was never really a question of if we were going do it. when he asks for it to be

christmas in the middle of september, you just do it. >> so what we have right now is have christmas on september 26th, 2012. >> reporter: aware of the fight ahead for nathan, they still plan on celebrating christmas with him on december 25th. but they're hoping an early christmas gift and neighborhood behind him will get him there. >> if he asks us to leave it up we may leave it up all year because in all honesty, every day should be like christmas. i mean we should always have that spirit of christmas in us. >> reporter: david muir, abc news, new york. >> sweet story. >> what a brave boy. for every family going through something like that, a lot of families out there, you know prayers and thoughts because that's unspeakable pain. >> absolutely. our prayers go out to nathan, his family. christmas a little early sound pretty good to me. i'm on board. >> i kind of like that. >> all right. we'll see you in a bit. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniac for two decades.